LOUISVILLE, KY - Continuing its efforts to help prevent birth defects, KFC® has awarded two grants from the Colonel Sanders Memorial Endowment Fund with the March of Dimes to scientists researching common problems in today’s pregnancies.

Michael G. Ross, MD, MPH, will receive $49, 768 to research how to correct a condition in which there is not enough amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus. Richard H. Finnell, Ph.D, will receive $61,441 to research how the B Vitamin called folic acid helps to prevent certain malformations of the brain and spinal cord.

Ross serves as professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute in Torrance, California.

His research will examine whether a new drug treatment he developed can safely increase the amniotic fluid that surrounds a baby during pregnancy. Too little amniotic fluid, known as oligohydramnios, can cause underdevelopment of fetal lungs, fetal or newborn death and complications during delivery. This occurs in as many as 8-15% of all pregnancies. Ross’ drug works to increase the main normal component of amniotic fluid.

Finnell, a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, is studying whether folic acid prevents malformations by lowering levels of an amino acid (homocysteine) in the body, or by some other mechanism. The March of Dimes recommends that women of childbearing age take a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid every day before pregnancy, in conjunction with a healthy diet.

Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of KFC, had a personal interest in preventing birth defects. One of his grandchildren was born with a malformation. Shortly after Sanders died in 1980, KFC established the memorial fund to help fund ongoing research.

KFC®, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy™ and Colonel’s Crispy Strips® chicken with homestyle sides and five new freshly made chicken sandwiches. Since its founding by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC has been serving customers delicious, already-prepared complete family meals at affordable prices. There are more than 10,300 KFC outlets in 83 countries around the world serving nearly eight million customers each day. KFC is a subsidiary of Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., Louisville, Ky. (NYSE: YUM)